Light in the Dark
by Inferna
Summary: In the darkest of times, everyone needs a light in the dark to guide the way out. When the worst happens, those who show you the way are the best to have by your side. Please R & R.


Light in the Dark

Summary: In the darkest of times, everyone needs a light in the dark to guide the way out. When the worst happens, those who show you the way are the best to have by your side.

Jungle movie never happened.

They're all about 14/13ish

Arnold Shortman was just finishing his 8th grade homework assignment in his room when he heard the phone in the hallway ring. Hoping down his stairs with a spring in his step he jogged to get the phone.

"Hello, can I ask whose calling?"

An odd accent answered with "May I please talk to Phillip?"

"Sure, just a second please." Arnold then jogged down the hallway to the main floor. "Grandpa! Phone for you!"

"Thanks, Shortman!"

Arnold put the phone down, and then went back to his room to finish his homework.

"Phil here." Phillip's eyes widened and his jaw slackened with shock. "Uhhhuh. Yes… I see… Thank you… Um will you be able to make it to the states? Alright, yea I can come and getcha. Thank you again." Phillip could barely get the words out with obvious effort. Phil sighed and covered his face with his hand.

"Grandpa? Everything okay? Sorry I couldn't help but overhear…"

His hand still covering his face, Phil said "Ah… Arnold? Yeah um I've got to talk to Gertie for a minute, mind hanging out in your room for a little?" Taking his hand down and smiling an almost sad smile at Arnold.

Arnold could tell something was off about his Grandpa, but being Arnold he said "Sure Grandpa, I'll be here if you need anything." He turned and went up to his room, leaving the ladder down and the door open.

Phil smiled the same sad smile, "I will, Shortman."

The next morning, Arnold was walking with Gerald to their classroom watching the floor tiles pass under them. He was trying to listen to what Gerald was saying, really, he was. But he could never seem to catch more than a word or two it seemed. Gerald finally got his attention however, when he stopped Arnold with a hand on his shoulder, looked in Arnold's eyes and said his name. "You okay, man?"

Gasping quickly like he'd been dozing off during a teacher's lecture, Arnold said "Um yea, Gerald, I'm… okay. Just… didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Or rather Arnold didn't get any sleep, but he didn't want to worry Gerald. And he could never outright lie, plus the bags under his eyes were plain for all to see. "Sorry I'm not better company right now." He slightly smiled to reassure his best friend.

Taking his hand away, "Hmm alright my main man, you know how to find me if you need something, like a trip to the pharmacy right?"

"Heh, yeah Gerald, thanks."

"Hmm maybe I should tell Helga to lay off with what you call, teasing, today. You look like you could use the day without it."

That caused Arnold to frown in thought. He had a much better understanding as to why she "teased" him constantly, still the same as it was, though it seemed she had been holding back a bit more the past few years. He speculated a bit on their odd relationship, the major pranks had died down to far and few in-between unlike before the FTI heat-of-the-moment confession. That and he noticed more, these past couple of years, the small favors she always seemed to do for everyone. Still being her brutal and ballistic self, she would interrupt at key points to stop someone from being overly embarrassed or steer conversations away from certain courses or generally help keep everyone in their niche at peace with one another, somehow without seeming to be doing just that. He appreciated that, though over the years he appreciated her much more than he had. Somehow they'd developed an odd friendship, he'd get the urge to walk her home every now and then or she would ask him to (quietly of course, with no one around) and they would talk, with some "teasing" from her during their walk of course, though he never took it all to heart anymore. This is why he stopped calling it bullying. Is it really "bullying" if the one being "bullied" thinks it isn't, or if the "bully" doesn't mean it in a malicious way? Her teasing had become a bit of a routine, daily banter he nearly enjoyed, if not he certainly tolerated all those "football head's" well enough now, and had come to expect them. Although he wasn't sure how he'd handle the teasing today…

"You know, Gerald that might be a good idea. But go easy on her will you? It's just to give her fair warning."

"Um um um… Arnold why you put up with that girl… I'll never know."

"Gerraaalllddd… Come on, she hasn't pulled any major pranks on me in almost a year! She's backed off a bit on the daily teasing too!" Arnold was getting very exasperated with his best friend. He could never seem to get Gerald to see that Helga wasn't as bad as he thought. He appreciated his friend looking out for him, but he wasn't a pushover.

"Hey Football-head!"

"Tch. Speak of the devil…" Arnold glared at his friend. Gerald noticed and made to take it back when Helga clapped Arnold harshly on his back.

"Hey Paste-for-Brains, it seems you really do have paste for brains since you didn't seem to hear me calling you." What Arnold didn't realize was that when she clapped him on the back, she also stuck a kick-me sign on him, since she had to keep him from thinking the pranks might stop.

Her comment seemed a bit more harsh than usual, at least it did to Arnold, but he was not thinking that the recent stress in his life was affecting his interactions with others and his judgments.

His shoulder stinging and his irritations doubled, Arnold complained "Helga, did you have to hit me so hard?" He moved his hand to his shoulder to rub it, only to feel something come away when he did. Stopping, he turned around to see what fell when he noticed a paper on the floor that Helga quickly snatched away and crumpled. "Oh that was just some garbage…" She started to explain but Arnold, knowing her as he did, narrowed his eyes in suspicion and interrupted her quickly and a little brusquely.

"Helga let me see that."

"Um you really don't have to, it's just…"

He interrupted her again "Helga!" and glared at her, with the bags under his eyes giving him a fiercer, darker, look. It didn't help that his eyes were a bit bloodshot either. Helga abruptly handed him the paper without much more thought than she probably should have had. With Gerald looking over his shoulder, Arnold tiredly opened the crumpled "kick-me because I'm a paste for brains" sign. The paper was roughly and angrily crumpled again, this time in Arnold's hands. Having read said sign, everything piled onto his shoulders all at the same time. Arnold threw the crumpled paper ball at Helga with enough force that had it been made of anything else, it would have left a large bruise on her.

Glowering angrily at her with a fury he'd never known before, he said "I hate you, Helga" so darkly he hardly recognized his own voice. Still raging, he stomped off.

Gerald stood in shock a moment, and then raced to catch up with his friend.

Helga was motionless far beyond the late bell ring.

Arnold sat down at his desk with a huff. She had some nerve! He had just been defending her and she… she… he supposed he was due for a prank, it had been a while. And he doubted she'd ever stop for real… He had really said he hated her, hadn't he? He rubbed his face, it must have been getting to him and he took it out on her… The guilt hit him again as she walked in, to anyone else it wouldn't seem like there was anything wrong, but he noticed a slight body language that told him what he'd just said to here had hurt her more than he'd have liked. She may have even seen the guilt in his eyes, for she simply said "Hey Football head," patted him on the shoulder, almost seeming to say it was okay by the action, and sat at her usual desk right behind him. The relief spread through his shoulders and that was all it took for things to go back to normal between them.

"Football head! Hey!" and someone poking him in the back was what he woke up to just in time to see Mrs. Andrews look his way. He smiled at her, hoping it didn't look like he'd just woken up. She turned back to the blackboard and he turned around and quietly thanked Helga for the 5th save of the day so far, and it was only 3rd period. She gave him a worried look and whispered "No problem hairboy, just try and keep your head off the desk, will you?"

"Easier said than done, but I'll try."

"I'll keep poking you if I see you dozing, Arnold."

He smiled a sad little smile and said a quiet but heartfelt "thank you, Helga."

"So in return, think you can walk me home today? Hmm or maybe I should be the one walking you home, you just might fall asleep standing up!"

Later they met at their usual spot, behind the building and behind a large bush. When Helga approached Arnold, he said "Helga remind me again why we still need to meet so secretly like this?"

"Because I'll be the one to hear it if they all find out I'm friends with a yutz like you." She said while she checked for spies.

"Aww come on Helga, would that be so bad, really?"

"Yes, now let's get a move on, and don't forget, you see anyone, you run for cover, alright?"

Arnold rolled his eyes "Oh like you didn't drill that one into my head the first time…"

"So Helga," Arnold said while they started towards her home, " I wanted to say… Well, I'm sorry for how I treated you this morning, I … have a lot on my shoulders and I took it out on you. I don't hate you, I never have, and I don't really think I ever could. I'm sorry that I ever said that." Arnold spoke from his heart, knowing he had never hated her, had wanted to get "even" with her or very angry at her, of course, but never absolutely hated her. But what he didn't know was that Helga would just about die to hear what he'd just so freely said. She stopped him from walking further with a hand on his arm.

"Arnold, wait. You… you mean you don't hate me? After all… the torture I put you through?" She seemed shocked and a bit bloodless to Arnold. He paused for a minute and thought about what he'd said, their history, and his "new" understanding of her.

"I don't hate you, never did, and doubt I ever will, Helga." He said quite frankly, not realizing the impact it was having on Helga. She stood stock still, face pale and jaw slackened. He watched her for a while, growing concerned, and said "Helga?" She seemed to snap to awareness when she heard him and next thing he knew was that he had an armful of Helga.

She whispered "you don't know how long I've needed to hear that." While he didn't quite know what was going on, he understood that on some level Helga had always been looking for forgiveness and he had just handed it to her, no questions asked. Normally however he would have hugged her back, but he was not really in the "hugging mood." Helga said "thank you, Arnold" and seemed to pick up on his mood then as she moved out of the hug. "So you going to tell me what's riding on your shoulders or do I need to pull it out of you?"

He considered telling her right there, as the stress from the earlier day was the cause for his hateful words from this morning. That and on some level he felt that if there was anyone he could tell, it'd be her. But it was still such an open wound that was getting harder and harder to hide. "No, I'd rather not Helga."

"Oh come on Arnold, I haven't seen you snap like that in a long time. Whatever it was, it was big and it hit you hard enough for you to react like that? Anything that hits you that hard, is something you need to talk to someone about. Doesn't have to be me, mind you, just talk to somebody?" she looked at him in his haunted eyes and knew, knew it was really bad and that it would be a long time before Arnold would be his true self again. He could see the understanding dawn on her and suddenly couldn't hide it anymore. He pulled her back to him, clutching onto her like a lifeline while the other arm couldn't find the energy to hold on too. Sobs shook him head to toe as his heart broke, spilled out his eyes and onto her supporting shoulder.

"Oh, Arnold…" She said as she held him, supported him, and rested her head against his comfortingly. "I am so sorry."


End file.
